Keeping the Permanent Green Card...

[Guest Rob & Jin]

Wont fly. Residency requirement needs to be the majority of time in the USA, not just a few days of the year.

 

Maintaining Permanent Residence

You may lose your permanent residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a Permanent Resident.

 

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

• Move to another country intending to live there permanently.
   
  
• Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.
   
  
• Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.
   
  
• Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.
   
  
• Declare yourself a ¡°nonimmigrant¡± on your tax returns.
  

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

 

Green-card is for permanent residence in the USA, it is not a pass that is used to re-enter the USA to visit.

 

Easiest way to deal with this is to remain in the USA as a permanent resident for 3 years, and then naturalize and become a US citizen, at this point you can live wherever you like, and not have problems re-entering the USA.

 

Dan I've read that section over many times and if you can direct me to the part that says "majority of time" I sure would like to see it...

 

I see a lot of "may"'s in there, also, which Dan likes to translate to "will".

 

 

"MAY" = the judgement of the IO at POE. If you are spending say 11 months of every year on foreign soil and just stepping onto US soil for a couple of weeks a year it could be risky, especially if you do this for a number of years.

 

JMHO

[Randy W]

 

"MAY" = the judgement of the IO at POE. If you are spending say 11 months of every year on foreign soil and just stepping onto US soil for a couple of weeks a year it could be risky, especially if you do this for a number of years.

 

JMHO

 

Do we know that an IO would revoke a green card on the spot? My impression (can't find anything to back it up) is that it would require a court hearing and that you would have an opportunity to have your say.

 

Of course, if you miss the hearing notice because you're out of the country, you may just be out of luck.

[Guest Rob & Jin]

 

"MAY" = the judgement of the IO at POE. If you are spending say 11 months of every year on foreign soil and just stepping onto US soil for a couple of weeks a year it could be risky, especially if you do this for a number of years.

 

JMHO

 

Do we know that an IO would revoke a green card on the spot? My impression (can't find anything to back it up) is that it would require a court hearing and that you would have an opportunity to have your say.

 

Of course, if you miss the hearing notice because you're out of the country, you may just be out of luck.

 

 

True we don't, but "abandonment" is different from committing an act to lose it while you are "in country" I didn't see were it said with abandonment you get the opportunity for a court hearing. If and I say if a IO refuses you entry and takes the card away you may not get to court anyway.

I really don't know, just throwing it out there as something to think about.

Not sure I would want to be the first to try it though .

Edited May 16, 2008 by Rob & Jin (see edit history)